The 10th and final part of my intuitive eating series is on the 10th principle Honor Your Health with Gentle Nutrition.
“Make food choices that honor your health and taste buds while making you feel good. Remember that you don’t have to eat perfectly to be healthy. You will not suddenly get a nutrient deficiency or become unhealthy, from one snack, one meal, or one day of eating. It’s what you eat consistently over time that matters. Progress, not perfection, is what counts.”
(From Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch)
Growing up with cf, I never really learned what proper nutrition was. If it was high calorie and high fat, I ate it, in order the keep the pounds on. I remember during one dietician visit in the hospital, she asked me to list off what I eat in a day and I included chips, cookies, and hot dogs and got a thumbs up!
Once I started Trikafta, and especially since training for a marathon I had to re-learn what to eat in order to feel good and perform. I’ve learned that I need to include an ample number of carbs with my meals in the form of mostly whole grains like brown rice and wheat bread, or sweet potatoes and potatoes.
I’ve learned the importance of protein to keep me full and satisfied. Any meal I eat whether it’s Greek yogurt or eggs and chicken sausage in the morning, chicken or steak at lunch and dinner, I always make sure to include protein with my meals. I also use Vital Proteins to supplement and to recover from my workouts.
I’ve learned the importance of fiber to keep me full. I add vegetables and fruits whenever I can and intuitive eating has taught me the importance of variety! My fridge is stocked with blueberries, plums, apples, cucumbers, carrots, and tomatoes for when I need to add fruits veggies to my meals and snacks. I know these things make me feel good!
Together with the other intuitive eating principles, gentle nutrition guides my decisions of what to eat but it doesn’t dictate it. There are no rules about what is good and bad, so when I want to eat a burger for dinner, I do! I just recognize how foods make me feel and decide which will fill me up, keep me energized, and fuel my workouts. Most importantly, I think about which foods will taste the best to me in the moment!
I hope you’ve enjoyed my series and learned a little bit about what intuitive eating is! Reach out with questions as always!
Finally, I encourage you to check out Intuitive Eating and the Intuitive Eating Workbook to learn more.
